Fubara Presents 2026 Budget to Rivers Assembly Amid Signs of Political Thaw

Governor Siminalayi Fubara formally presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the Rivers State House of Assembly on July 10 at the House of Assembly Quarters Auditorium in Port Harcourt, in a session broadcast live and marked by a visibly tense atmosphere. Following the presentation, Speaker Martins Amaewhule — an ally of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike — held a brief conversation with Fubara and the two shook hands, a gesture read as a sign of easing tension in the protracted Fubara-Wike political standoff. The peace remains fragile: the earlier reconciliation accord, under which Fubara agreed not to seek re-election in 2027 and to join the APC, had appeared to be collapsing in May and June as both camps jockeyed for position ahead of the 2027 governorship race.